The Promise of Tomorrow
by hiddensoullover
Summary: Relena Darlian seemingly has it all...or does she? While reminicing on a love lost, Relene comes to discover that true love might be closer than she thought. [Oneshot]


**Disclaimer: Don't own Relena, Duo, Hilde, Heero, Sally, Trowa…Quatre…nor any of the other people in any Gundam series. Don't, don't, don't. **

**Warning: Shoujo-Ai (FF) pairing. Don't like, don't read, don't flame.**

**A/N: Okay, Relena would be cool if she wasn't so completely obsessed with Heero, no? I mean, she was Queen for a week, and she really is an important character in the female role in the series. So here I am writing one where she isn't so disgustinbgly obsessed with the Gundam Fighter, and I am applauding all those writers who have done so before me. Lets give her a break!**

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It was lonely; she had to be truthful about it. Being the Leader of the Sank Kingdom had its perks. She was respected in society, loved by many, and her people were devoted to her cause. She had accomplished much in her young life, and many were praising her, singing of the greatness she was to become. People said that she would change the future—the star of the future some romantic fan had called her. And Relena Darlian should be as happy as possible in this life, but unfortunately she wasn't.

She was always busy, no time for being with friends—not that she'd had many during her life—or family. Milliardo, well, she didn't see much of him either. Her brother was a busy as she was. If he were any more busy they'd be complete strangers. It was sad to know that she'd just recovered the brother she never knew she had only to lose him to his work. Was life never going to look favorably towards her emotional side?

Heero Yuy…_Heero Herro Heero_. For a very long time Relena had been _obsessed_ with him. She'd thought that he would be the one to change her life. It had been a reason for her to continue with life, to fight…but now she knew better. Heero was only—and would only be—a good friend in her life. She didn't think Heero knew what love was—or that he had the capability of feeling and transmitting that emotion. But she knew that he cared for her somewhere deep within him—and that she held a piece of his heart—even though he would never admit it.

She'd moved on with her life—actually spending more time with Duo than Heero—but that was because with Duo she had never had romantic feelings—and she was safer with him. Also—though she never admitted it—she found his humor refreshing, and she loved the way the silliness he could come up with at times. It reminded her that not all in life was seriousness and business matters. And that reminder did her well. She trusted the Preventor agent with her life, and knew that he would give his own for her if he had to.

Many tabloids and newspapers speculated on a romance between them. Uncountable pictures had been taken of them whenever they were spotted together in public, and the newspaper a magazine articles about their 'blooming romance' surprised both of the people featured. People would see them on the streets and would tell them that they loved their relationship—that it was alright to love each other…to fight for each other. And an old woman with a gleam in her eyes had told Duo not to let 'such a fine and special woman as this' to slip away through his fingers because he would regret it 'to the end of his days'.

The thought of a romance between both Duo and herself was rather comical, and Relena shook her head with a smile on her face. It would have been impossible for her to love Duo more than as the brother Milliardo never was. When Duo and herself had begun going out to places she had thought that maybe she would…but then that fateful night she discovered there al reason why she couldn't ever…

(Three Years Previous)

_ Dressed to kill but nervous enough to die if she did or said something embarrassing during the outing, Relena smiled up at Duo, thinking once more that he was very handsome. She couldn't believe when he had invited her out to eat after comforting her last night. Don't think about last night. But of course, she did. _

_ Last night she had finally come to terms that Heero would never love her, and she had broken down in a fit of desperate sobs as her soul was rent in two. She had put _so_ much hope into her fantasy of marrying Heero and living a fairy-tale life that this had hit her like a ton of bricks. The young woman knew that she had to accept it and move on with her life, but it was so hard to do it._

_ Duo had been passing by and had found her some hours later. She'd been a mess, and he'd held her as she continued crying. He'd never asked why she was crying, but he didn't have to. He already knew why. _

_ So he'd invited her out, to 'loosen up' and have some fun. And she had accepted._

_ Now they were out at some night club, and Relena couldn't help but feel as if she had just entered another planet. Her life had been very sheltered, protected, controlled. Her earlier teen years had been spent doing as the man she thought was her father wanted; becoming Queen of the world (an episode she wanted to forget) and then studying for several months at the best University before she became the leader of the sank Kingdom.._

_ She'd never even known that night clubs existed here…she barely even had time to watch _TV_ for crying out loud! And the dancing… Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open when she saw the dancing. It was…was…was…erotic. That wasn't DANCING...that was making love on the dance floor!_

_ "Do you like Sex on the Beach?"_

_ Her mouth fell open even more when Duo directed that question to her. "WHAT?"_

_ He seemed confused at her reaction, then smirked. "You really don't drink much, do you?"_

_ Her cheeks flushed as she suddenly realized what he had been referring to. "It's a beverage—isn't it?"_

_ "Yep." That playful jeer was on his expression. "You wanna give it a whirl?"_

_ "Sure."_

_ "Good."_

_ The conversation had gone smoothly from there since both of them had things in common…especially the welfare of the entire universe and Heero. Everything had been so perfect that Relena couldn't help but think that this was the person that life had for her, that Duo was the one she'd been looking for…that was…until around eleven. That was when she'd seen **her**. The woman was pure long gloriously snaking up an all-too-small-and-tight leather skirt, and tight halter top that did nothing to cover up her good-sized breasts._

_ Duo caught her staring and followed her gaze until it rested on the woman. He smirked and had proceeded to tell Relena about the woman—without Relena having even asked. "That little 'lady' over there is Sachiko Sakamoto."_

_ That caught her attention right away. "Sakamoto? As in Sakamoto Metal Industries? The Industries where they got the precious metal to make the Gundams?"_

_ "Yep. That there is the daughter." Duo announced, his eyes on the beauty as well. "Word is that she's a rather wild one. She's her father's only child, the apple of his eye…all that poetry crap and more. He'll do anything to make sure his little baby is happy—but I've heard she doesn't like him much. Says that his business takes time away from her. She never gets to see him." He gulped down another large gulp of his drink. "I think this is her way of revenge."_

_ Returning her gaze on the woman, Relena blushed three shades of scarlet and looked away when Sachiko caught her staring at her. The last thing Relena needed was having an important man like Sakamoto against her. The alcohol must have loosened her up, because she would never have asked what she asked next if she had been sober. "So, Duo. How come you don't have a girlfriend?"_

_ Duo laughed. "Um, I'm not in the stage of my life where I want to be tied down with a girlfriend. I guess, I'm sorta like you—married to my job."_

_ But I **hate** being 'married to my job'. She was just about to say that when another voice broke into the conversation._

_ "You wanna dance?"_

_ Relena looked up at Sachiko Sakamoto and then back down at the table, a look of defeat in her eyes. She knew that Duo wouldn't refuse that invitation. No one in their right minds would refuse a beautiful woman like Sachiko. But the seconds dragged on and everyone was silent. Duo wasn't answering._

_ Duo coughed into his palm, but Relena noticed that he was covering up for a fit of laughter. "Um—Relena? I think you're supposed to answer that."_

_ Eyes widening, Relena looked up at Duo to see if he was joking, then, looking at Sachiko she saw that look in her eyes and she went flush…and it wasn't from the alcohol. Sachiko had asked _her_ if she wanted to dance! "Um—I--."_

_ "That means yes." Duo announced cheerfully for Relena. Then, in a whisper only she could hear, he stated: "And to think that you were once the Queen of the World."_

_ She tried kicking him from under the table but that didn't seem to do anything other than amuse him more. So she got up from the table and looked at Sachiko after giving Duo a well-deserved glare for answering for her. "I'd love to."_

_ Out on the dance floor Relena had felt stupid at first since she didn't know how to dance this way—but Sachiko was a good instructor—and the rhythm of the music seduced Relena into dancing without a care. They had danced and chatted and laughed all night together, and Relena had never had as much fun in her whole entire life._

_ That night was the night she'd fallen in love—with Sachiko nonetheless. Of course, she tried denying it afterwards since, well, her reputation was on the line—but Sachiko didn't seem to accept the fact that Relena had never called her after that night. The heiress appeared at every convention Relena assisted—she found out where Relena lived (when not in the palace) and visited her relentlessly—and then they first made love when Relena had tried to order Sachiko out of her house—only for the other (very) determined young woman to show her _why_ she wasn't planning on leaving any time soon._

_ Still Relena was worried about her image as the leader of a kingdom, and so Sachiko had reluctantly agreed to keep their relationship as a secret. Faithful Duo—ever ready to help his friend—had wrestled Heero into going out on double dates with them so that it would seem as if Sachiko were with Heero and Relena with Duo…which Sachiko never did appreciate. _

_ They broke up and got back together so many times because of Sachiko's jealousy when Duo was concerned—that Relena was sure that it was actually love. This was it. This was the real deal. She was going to make her status as a lesbian public—image or no image. And when Sachiko had been told she'd been overjoyed. They were going to live with each other. They would be a partner in public and behind closed doors…especially behind closed doors._

_ But that was not to be. A week before Relena was to go public, there was a rebellion, and Sachiko was killed in the attacked. Relena had been grief-stricken—swearing never to love again, and two years had passed and she was still sticking to that promise_.

(Present)

"My lady?"

Blinking back into the present, Relena Darlian turned to look at her Head of Security and best friend, Hilde Schbeiker, staring at her in concern. Her spiky black hair seeming to pierce her intense blue eyes. Those eyes were now filled with worry.

"Yes Hilde?"

"I was—are you feeling well? Lady Darlian?"

A soft smile appeared on Relena's face as she nodded. "Just lost in thought."

"Oh."

"And Hilde?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"How many times have I told you to call me Relena?" She raised an eyebrow at the older woman. "We've known each other for a very long time now. You don't need to use formalities with me."

The other woman ducked her head, clasping her hands behind her back, looking so very formal in her uniform. "It is only proper for me to respect you—my lady—you are the leader of the Sank Kingdom, a princess _and_ my employer."

She reached over and placed her hand on Hilde's shoulder. "But I hope that I am also your friend. I hold you in high esteem, Hilde Schbeiker. I consider you my best friend and a very important person in my life."

At this, Hilde's head jerked up ad she blinked, looking at Relena as if dazed. A harsh blush covered her cheeks and the elder woman looked down once more. "I am honored, miss Relena."

"Good." The smile turned more genuine. At least Hilde had dropped the _lady_. Relena giggled, remembering how hard it had been to convince Hilde not to call her '_princess_'. It had taken a desperate threat to _fire_ Hilde the next time shecalled herthat to get the other female to stop calling her'princess' completely. Up to today Relena still felt a little guilty for having to do that, but it had accomplished her goal.

"May I ask what you were thinking about?"

The question surprised Relena into blinking repeatedly. "I, uh, I was, well, I was reminiscing on the love of my life."

A strange look appeared in Hilde's eyes and she looked down once more. "On Heero Yuy." What was wrong with her voice?

"No, actually." Relena cleared her throat, blushing deeply when she felt Hilde's head jerk up at that. "Her name was Sachiko Sakamoto. We were together for one miraculous year before she was killed in the rebellion. With her died my last hope for true love." Hearing the gasp, Relena closed her eyes. She'd thought that since Hilde had been in the army she would understand her better, but she guessed that she was wrong. "I can understand if after hearing this you don't want to work for me. But I am not angry." She closed her eyes tighter, clenching her fists tightly at the dead silence. "I will even write you a letter of recommendation so wonderful that people will be _begging_ for your services." The silence was deafening, and Relena wondered if Hilde had rushed out of the room while she was in the middle of her speech.

But suddenly soft lips touched hers and engulfed her in a kiss so caring, loving, protective and dedicated, that Relena's eyes flew open, looking into the blue eyes of Hilde. She didn't even have time to react before Hilde's lips left hers, and the elder woman whispered: "You should _never_ give up on true love. _Relena_."

"_Hilde?"_

Stepping back, Hilde bowed slightly from the waist and walked towards the door, turning around slightly in the doorway. "Why would I want to resign and work somewhere else when all I ever wanted and desired is right here?" Giving Relena a meaningful glance, she then proceeded to walk out of the room.

Looking at Hilde's retreating figure, Relana's fingers touched her lips. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks inflamed. A soft smile appeared on her face as she replayed everything back in her mind, remembering the electricity that had run through her body at the soft touch of Hilde's lips against hers. _Imagine what I would feel if that kiss had lasted longer!_ For the first time in two years, Relena's smile reached her eyes. _Well, maybe I **shouldn't** give up in true love._

And with that thought, she turned and walked over to the window, contemplating that maybe life wouldn't be so lonely anymore.

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**R&R PLZ!**


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